Many medical and operative procedures require surgically disconnecting various portions of the anatomy. After disconnecting the portions of the anatomy, and to increase recovery from the procedure, it is generally desired to reaffix the disconnected portions. For example, soft tissues can be anchored relative to boney structures or sewn together. Soft tissues may be affixed relative other soft tissues or to a boney structure using various adhesives.
In addition, the surgical wound that is created by opening the epidermis and dermis of a patient can be substantially closed using various techniques. These various techniques include stapling, suturing, and using many adhesives. The adhesives to reaffix the internal soft tissues and the dermis may be substantially similar. Generally, however, the adhesives must be biocompatible so that they are non-toxic to the patient and do not inhibit healing of the wound.
Adhesives may either be entirely manmade, substantially obtained from natural sources, or combinations of both. Regardless of the source, the adhesive may include portions that polymerize or clot (gel) to form the adhesive sealant. Examples of natural adhesives include multi-component or two component biological materials that, when mixed together, form an adhesive that can be used in many applications. For example, a multi-component adhesive may include fibrinogen and thrombin. Various other components, such as particular factors and proteins may be mixed with other biological components to increase efficacy thereof. Fibrinogen and thrombin coagulate to form the adhesive. Adhesives may be used for various applications such as sealing wounds to stop bleeding or increase healing and to minimize infection.
When used in a surgical procedure, it is often desired to supply the materials during the procedure through an efficient and simple to use applicator. It is also desired that the devices be easy to maneuver during the surgical procedure. Also, the devices should ensure a substantially continuous supply of the materials during at least a selected portion of the procedure. It is desirable, however, to also provide an ergonomic design for such an applicator and provide a means for easily re-supplying the applicator once exhausted to ensure a substantially continuous supply of the material to the selected area. It is also desirable to provide a substantially metered amount of the materials so that application of the material can be easily dosed.
For a multi-component adhesive, it may be desirable to apply the adhesive over a substantially large area in a substantially even manner. For example, a multi-component material may be mixed in a mixing apparatus and sprayed onto an external or internal wound to assist in sealing the wound. Regardless an applicator is desired that is easy to fill and maneuver to various areas during a procedure.